Cardboard box hinge



Feb. 25, 1964 1.. D. YOUNG CARDBOARD BOX HINGE Filed Jan. 17, 1962 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,121,909 CARDBOARD BOX HINGE Lewis Douglas Young, Providence, 12.1., assignor to Douglas Young, Inc., a corporation of Rhode Island Filed Jan. 17, 1962, Ser- No. 166,760 2 Claims. (Cl. 16-191) This invention relates to a cardboard box hinge having a spring to actuate the plates to one position or another.

Heretofore in the use of a metal hinge to hinge together the body and cover sections of a cardboard box, the spring which urged the two plates of the hinge to cause them to move the sections to closed position was frequently so much stronger than the cardboard back walls of the box that the plates of the hinge would swing beyond a single plane and cause an outward bulging of the back walls of the box. Since it was necessary to swing the plates of the hinge beyond the position asstuned at closing which is a single plane in order to assemble the spring, no stops had been heretofore put into the hinge plates to cause them to align.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a hinge which may have stops so as to prevent the outward bulging of the rear walls of the box.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hinge which, in its first position, before attaching to the box may have the stop means so that it will permit assembly of the hinge spring but which stops means will be moved into a position to provide a stop as the hinge is assembled in place on the box.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hinge which may be treated for assembly with the box the same as the usual metal hinge but which will change said relationships as it is assembled so that the hinge will have abutting surfaces as the hinge moves the covers to closed position so as to prevent the spring from moving the hinge plates to concave inwardly and consequently bulge the rear surface of the hinged walls of the box.

With these and other objects in view, the invention con sists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the box in open position with my improved hinge in position;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the hinge alone;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View through the attaching spurs of the hinge alone;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the spring;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the box and hinge through the attaching spurs;

FIGURE 6 is a section on line 66 through the abut ments on the hinge plates;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6 but illustrating the cover and body sections in closed position and the abutments on the hinge plates as in engagement;

FIGURE 8 is a section on line 8-8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the fragmental portion of the hinge prior to its assembly on the box i1lustrating the abutting tabs as in a position sufiiciently raised out of the plane of the plates to swing clear of each other as the plates are swung toward position for assembly of the spring thereon;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view illustrating the box sections as positioned on an anvil for assembly of the hinge plates in position which at the same time bends the abutting tabs into a position for engagement one with the other.

In proceeding with this invention I form the hinge plates with attaching spurs and I cut from either one or both hinge plates tabs and raise these tabs out of the surface of the hinge plates sufiiciently sorthat the hinge plates may swing about their pintle pin pivot substantially through 360 so that in one position the spring may be assembled on the hinge plates. The hinge plates with their spurs for assembly to the box sections are then positioned on theanvil, the box sections placed in position and the hammer dropped to secure the spurs in the box and at the same time the shaping of the anvil and hammer is such that the abutment tabs are bent into a position so that they will engage and align the hinge plates in a single plane preventing the plates from moving beyond this plane as the box is moved to the closed position shown in FIGURE 7.

With reference to the drawings 10 designate-s generally the body section of the box and 11 the cover section.

0 The body section has a bottom wall 12, front wall 13,

side walls 14 and a back wall 15. The cover section has a top wall 16, a front wall 17, side walls 18 and a back wall 20. The rear walls are designed to be maintained in substantially a single plane, and it is to these rear walls that the hinge is attached.

The hinge comprises a pair of plates 21 and 22 which are of metal with aligned rolled eyes 31, 32 through which a pintle pin 33 extends to hinge the plates together, and from the sheet metal stock spurs 23 are bent from plate 21 and spurs 24 are bent from plate 22. There are four evenly spaced spurs shown about each generally circular opening although the number may be varied. Each spur is arcuate in cross section so as to stiffen it and inclines slightly outwardly so as to be deflected outwardly away from the center of the opening as it engages an anvil. These spurs are adapted to pierce the rear walls of the cardboard box and be turned over as at 23, 24' (FIG. 5) for attaching the plates to the inner surface of the rear walls 15 and 20. The plates are also provided with slots 25 in plate 21 and 26 in plate 22, in which a C-shaped spring 27 engages by the hook ends of the spring hooking over the edges of the slot.

Additionally, I have formed tabs 28 on plat-e 21 and 29 on plate 22, and in the cutting of these tabs which exist in two sets on either side of the spring, they are raised from the general plane of the plate a distance beyond that shown in FIGURES 1 and 7, the distance raised being illustrated in FIGURE 9 which is shown as sufiicient so that the tabs 28 and 29 will clear each other when the inner surfaces of the plates 21 and 22 are swung toward each other beyond a single plane such as shown in FIG- URE 3. By swinging the plates beyond this plane to a position somewhat analogous to that shown in FIGURE 9, the hook ends of the spring 27 may be positioned over the edges of the slots 25 and 26. The plates may then be swung back into a position such as shown in FIGURE 10, and the rear walls 15, 20 of the box sections positioned thereon as shown in FIGURE 10, all upon the anvil 30, and then the hammer 31, may descend so as to force the spurs 23 and 24 through the rear walls 15 and 2t) and clinch them over as in FIGURE 5, and at the same time the surface of the anvil and hammer will be such that the tabs 28 and 29 will be bent from their raised position such as shown in FIGURE 9 to the position shown in FIGURES 1, 7, and 8, thus positioning the tabs so that they will engage and provide an abutment means to prevent the spring from swinging the hinge sections beyond the aligned position such as shown in FIGURE 7 and preventing the spring from being disengaged, thus preventing rearward bulging of the walls 15 and 20 but rather maintaining the plates 21 and 22 in a single aligned plane.

I claim:

1. A cardboard box hinge comprising a pair of sheet metal plates each provided with spaced eyes along an edge of the plate with said eyes of the two plates aligned, a

pintle pin extending through said eyes to hingedly relate said plates for movement about the axis of the pin to varying relative angular positions, tabs cut and bent from each of said plates along their hinged edges into such position that the ends of the tabs have engagement with each other and thus limit the movement of said plates in their hinging action in only one position and such tabs being of such length as to cause said plates when the tabs are in engagement to be in substantially a single plane.

2. A cardboard box hinge as in claim 1 wherein said tabs are bent on opposite arcs to have their ends engage at spaced points to limit the movement of the hinge plates. References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A CARDBOARD BOX HINGE COMPRISING A PAIR OF SHEET METAL PLATES EACH PROVIDED WITH SPACED EYES ALONG AN EDGE OF THE PLATE WITH SAID EYES OF THE TWO PLATES ALIGNED, A PINTLE PIN EXTENDING THROUGH SAID EYES TO HINGEDLY RELATE SAID PLATES FOR MOVEMENT ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE PIN TO VARYING RELATIVE ANGULAR POSITIONS, TABS CUT AND BENT FROM EACH OF SAID PLATES ALONG THEIR HINGED EDGES INTO SUCH POSITION THAT THE ENDS OF THE TABS HAVE ENGAGEMENT WITH EACH OTHER AND THUS LIMIT THE MOVEMENT OF SAID PLATES IN THEIR HINGING ACTION IN ONLY ONE POSITION AND SUCH TABS BEING OF SUCH LENGTH AS TO CAUSE SAID PLATES WHEN THE TABS ARE IN ENGAGEMENT TO BE IN SUBSTANTIALLY A SINGLE PLANE. 